Cocoa butter is derived from cocoa beans, or cocoa nibs. It is used to make chocolate as well as creams and lotions. It has a hard texture, is yellow in color and smells like chocolate. It is one of the most stable vegetable fats and has a shelf life of 3 to 5 years.

What are its benefits for the skin?

Cocoa butter is a very rich moisturizer, and helps with scarring, stretch marks, and skin dryness. It helps smooth and tone damaged skin.

Raw cocoa butter is the purest form of cocoa butter, and has the most phytonutrients and fatty acids. Those are not retained in deodorized cocoa butter.

How is it made?

Cocoa beans are fermented, roasted, hulled and ground. The resulting paste is separated into cocoa butter from cocoa liquor with a hydraulic press.

Cocoa butter is imported from South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa.